I had a look at the nice hat rack in your gallery Did you eat the rest of it?

I guess my question was also with regard to the hunter types that go to Africa/India and kill a Lion/Tiger (or other endangered beastie) just so they can say they did (seems to me). I don't guess I'll ever understand that, but would love to hear 'why' from their point of view.

asy

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Never interrupt your opponent while he's making a mistake.There cannot be a crisis next week. ~My schedule is already full..

You've heard alot good explanations here so I probably don't need to add this but its one of those little trivia things.

I like Teddy Roosevelt - not that I knew him as he was a little ahead of me. Its his deeds that stand out. ( oh I'm gettin to the point I just take time to git there ) He hunted for meat but I believe he also went for trophies. He was pretty much ahead of the curve - 100 yrs ago no less - on land use also - locked up more in Nat'l Parks/Forests - singlehandedly - than any other President. He wanted to preserve some/alot of the american wilderness for the future. He also had a nasty reputation for shooting alot of game. And I'm sure that you heard the story about how his hunting party killed a mother bear but when they found a cub he insisted on saving the cub and we came to have the "Teddy Bear " from that concern for animals. I'm under the impression that all the game they got was eaten ( or cured for later use ) . But he also hunted under contract. Some of his famous African safari's were funded by museums for exhibits for their displays. Now I personally am not a trophy hunter - not even a very good hunter - and I'm not saying all trophy hunters are good or bad - more like I'm saying I think there are good and bad of everything - it seems to me that its whats inside a person that counts.

BTW - His house in Oyster Bay NY is pretty neat - his wife allowed him his trophies/mementoes but had her space without the exhibits for entertaining. Now then his place out west ( Medora ND I believe ) well he was a bachelor then.

FWIW I believe what they say about him - he woulda been a great man even if he had not been President, especially if you look at him in the context of the values of his own time. And I'm old fashioned enough to believe that his cliche "Square Deal" ought to mean something.

There are also those hunters that carry a gun in the pickup, but it never leaves the case all season. It's just a chance, or excuse, to get away from the rat race , or someone ,for a few days with no intensions of shooting game.

Hunting, in my mind has very little to do with the actual shooting of the game and more to do with all that goes into it. For me, it is mainly the comradery. The preperation, the shopping for equipment, the stories, hunting camp, the snow storms, etc. all are the things I look forward too. Some of the best memories I have of my brother that I lost this summer are of the times that we had together doing hunting related activities. I love eating wild game and am willing to hunt any animal as long as I am also willing to eat it. I don't think I have ever seen any meat in this area go to waste from a hunter that was only looking for a hide or antlers. All the hunters that I have known that don't like the meat always make sure it finds it's way to someone that does. Here, if you don't want your deer for some reason, it can be donated to the local food pantry. I just find it amazing some times the negative perception some people have of an activity that serves so many good purposes. I really think the perception that hunters shoot animals and leave them in the woods is a result of the anti gun/anti hunting establishment spreading misinforation on to people that don't know any better. Not saying that these kind of people don't exist, but I can say that of the hundreds of people that I have met around the country while undertaking hunting related activities, I have yet to meet anyone that would act in such a maner.